


Finding a home (where time stands still)

by UnderlandsCreator



Category: Katekyou Hitman Reborn!
Genre: Adult Arcobaleno, Alternate Universe, Arcobaleno!Tsuna, Baby Arcobaleno, Gen, Growing Up, Sacrifice, Temporary Amnesia, Time Travel
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2015-05-03
Updated: 2015-05-16
Packaged: 2018-03-28 19:47:59
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 3
Words: 7,858
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/3867622
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/UnderlandsCreator/pseuds/UnderlandsCreator
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Tsuna thought that when he woke up that morning, it was to a normal day. He was running late, as usual, when he bumped into someone, also usual. What wasn't usual, however, was the smoke that soon engulfed him, and was the last thing that he remembers seeing. Waking up later with no memories, Tsuna, not that he remembers his name, is lucky to be found by a kind woman named Luce, who takes him in. His time with Luce is peaceful, but that peace is disrupted by a man calling himself Checker Face, who seems to think that Tsuna is one of seven people who are needed in order to maintain the balance of the world.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> Disclaimer: I do not own, nor do I claim to own Katekyou Hitman Reborn!

_I really should_ _have stayed in bed today,_ Tsuna thought to himself as he rushed around his room, grabbing up his wrinkled school uniform from off the floor and throwing it on.

_I mean, it’s the last day of the week, and it’s like anyone would notice, or even care that I’m not at school. Well, anyone except Hibari, but he’s different._

It was 7:45, and school started at 8. It took Tsuna about 15 minutes to get to school on a good day, but he only had 10 because his alarm clock wouldn’t go off, and he woke up late.

“Tsu-kun, do you want breakfast?”

“No kaa-san! Thank you, but I’m going to be late, and Hibari-san doesn’t tolerate lateness!” Tsuna yelled down to his mother, cramming his feet into his sneakers, and grabbing his book bag as he ran out the bedroom door. He didn’t have time to tie his laces, but he figured, no, _hoped_ , that he would be fine.

Tsuna regretted the decision to not tie his sneakers, though, when he tripped on his laces halfway down the steps.

“Hiee!” Tsuna screamed out, grabbing on to the banister to stop himself from falling down the rest of the stairs, and, with his luck, breaking something.

Tsuna straightened up, and placed his hand on his chest, feeling his racing heart. He took a deep breath in, holding it to the count of 3, before releasing it.

_Ok, I need to calm down. I’m only going to make things worse for myself if I hurry around like this and end up hurting myself. If I run, I should be able to make it just in time, and even if I’m a few minutes late, Hibari-san might just ignore me, or, more likely, let me off with a light biting to death._

_“_ Tsu-kun, are you alright?” Tsuna heard his mother ask him from the kitchen, breaking him out of his thoughts.

“I’m fine kaa-san, I just…” Tsuna trailed off as he caught a glimpse of the time on the hallway clock, “I’m going to be late!” he finished, making his way down the rest of the stairs.

Tsuna ran into the kitchen and gave his mother a quick kiss on the cheek, before grabbing a piece of toast from off the kitchen table, and heading for the front door. He was almost there when he heard his mother call out to him again.

“Wait, Tsu-kun! You forgot your bento box!” She called out, and Tsuna groaned around the piece of toast in his mouth and quickly turned back around.

Tsuna made his way back to the kitchen and gently took the wrapped up bento box from his mother’s hands, before hurriedly stuffing it into his book bag.

“Thank you kaa-san, I’ll see you after school.” Tsuna said as he turned to make his way make to the front door, moving faster when he caught another glimpse of the time.

“Have a good day at school, Tsu-kun. Kaa-san will be waiting patiently for you to get back.” Tsuna heard his mother call back to him, and he waved goodbye over his shoulder before rushing out the front door.

_Good day? If she knew what happened at school every day, she would know better than to say that, though I guess it’s my fault for never telling her the truth whenever she asks me how my day at school went. I wonder, where does she thinks all the cuts and bruises come from? She never asks questions, but the medicine cabinet in the bathroom is always restocked whenever supplies are running low, and it’s only the two of us in the house, so she must know that I’m the one using it. Maybe…maybe she’s waiting for me to come to her? I’m sorry kaa-san, but I do…_

Tsuna was abruptly shaken out of his thoughts when a body came crashing into him, just as he was turning the corner onto the street that would take him through a shortcut to the school.

 He stumbled back and tripped, _again_ , over the shoe laces that he should have tied earlier. Due to the force of the collision, the person and box they were carrying, including everything that was inside of it, all followed Tsuna on his way to the ground.

Tsuna fell with a crash, his book bag flying out of his hand to land on the ground next to him, and his left arm flying back instinctively to try and catch him as he fell.

 Tsuna rubbed his head where it hit the ground with the hand that wasn’t scrapped up and hurting from trying to cushion his fall, and opened his eyes, squinting in pain at the face of the person holding themselves over him, their arms on either side of his waist.

“Oh no…” Tsuna heard a male voice start to say, before his vision was engulfed in white.

The last thing Tsuna sees as smoke starts to engulf him, is worried green eyes staring out of an unfamiliar face topped with red hair, caught in an expression of shock.

 

* * *

 

 

_Giglio Nero Mansion_

_May 4 th, 1978_

The silence of a rather calm spring day at the Giglio Nero famiglia’s main house was broken by a loud _Bang!,_ and a puff of smoke.

A strong gust of wind blew by, dispersing the smoke to show a boy. He was laying on the ground in the forest surrounding the main house, just to the left of the entrance.

Luce, who had been waiting for this very moment, left her seat on the steps leading up to the front doors, and made her way to where she saw the boy appear.

It only took her a few seconds to reach him, and once she did, Luce just stood over him, and stared.

The boy’s features were delicate, and even though he looked to be mostly Asian, Luce could see some traces of Italian in him, probably from a distant relative.

 He had soft-looking caramel colored hair, and pale white skin, but since his eyes were closed, Luce could only guess at their color. The boy was small, looking to be about 10, 12 at the most, and the skin that was visible where his clothes didn’t cover him, was littered with bruises.

He looked so _young_ , and Luce felt her heart breaking just looking at him, because she _knew._

Luce knew, looking at the brown haired boy on the ground before her, that what she was going to do was _necessary,_ not only for the future, but also for the happiness of seven special individuals, who, in another world, would have been _hers_ , to care for, to love, and to, most importantly, be the sky that would encompass them all, giving them a home that they would always be able to return too.

In a perfect world, she would have all of that and more, but, unfortunately, the world isn’t perfect. No, in fact, it is a place that would see her sacrifice the life of the boy before her, in favor of maintaining the balance. In…in place of her.

Luce knew that it wasn’t right, he was just a _child_ , but she also knew that she was selfish. She knew that, once she saw the vision of the future she could have with her little girl, her _Aria_ , she wouldn’t be able to give that up—give up being a mother, and being there for her daughter. She wouldn’t be able to look away as she was forced into the body of an infant, when she knew how devastated her daughter would be, seeing her die so young.

She knelt down on the ground to pick him up, and gathered him into her arms. Luce marveled at how small he was, how _light,_ once she was holding him standing up.

Luce turned around and made her way back to her home, but as she looked down to the boy’s head resting against her shoulder, she had to stop as a wave of sorrow crashed over her, tinged with remorse.

The gift of divination passed down to each head of the family was, at times, both a blessing and a curse, and Luce had made peace with the fact that every action she took would be dictated by her visions of a distant future.

But even then, the decisions she made were only for the good of the famiglia, and never herself. Never her own personal happiness, or solely for her benefit. That meant that, before now, she had never been forced to live with the knowledge that she was destroying another person’s life, in order to secure a future solely based on what she wanted.

Luce shook her head, and continued walking. It was time she owed up to the fact that she wasn’t entirely a good person, and that she could be just as selfish as anyone else, regardless of what her famiglia thought.

_After all,_ she thought to herself, as she leaned her back against the door that she had previously unlocked, and made her way into the front entrance hall _, a good person would never allow what I am about to force this boy, this child to go through, but a good mother, and more importantly, a good boss, would. And I know that, before anything else, I am a good boss._

Luce made her way up the main staircase, and with every step that she took, she felt a weight grow heavier and heavier around her shoulders, a weight that she knew she would be carrying around for the rest of her life, because it was the weight of a guilty conscience.


	2. Chapter 2

 

Luce decided to put the boy in the set of rooms next to hers, and asked one of the servants to go out and buy clothes that should fit him. She would have done it herself, but she didn't want to leave him to wake up by himself, and at 6 months pregnant, her family didn't let her leave the house unless it was for an emergency.

She walked into the room, and went straight to the bed to lay the boy down. Luce pulled off his shoes and set them down on the floor next to the nightstand, and then folded down the blankets on one side, so that she could slide him into the middle of the bed, and cover him back up afterwards.

 _He’s so small_ , Luce thought to herself, lifting the blanket up and tucking it more securely around the boy. The bed he was lying on was king sized, and it had white pillows that were piled up behind him, and soft golden sheets that she pulled up to his chin, tucking him in at all sides.

He was placed directly in the middle of the bed, and he seemed to take up hardly any space at all, and if Luce didn’t know any better, she would easily be able to mistake him for a pillow that someone had stuffed underneath the blankets. Luce sat herself on the side of the bed after pulling the blanket up, and lifted a hand up to softly brush a piece of the boys hair to the side of his face. She placed the piece of hair behind his ear, marveling at how soft it was as she did.

After she was done, Luce looked at the boy for a moment longer, her navy blue eyes softening in sadness as she did, before she looked away, turning her body so that while she was still seated, her back was now facing him, and her front was facing the open window on the right wall.

Luce placed her left hand on the rounded curve of her stomach, and sighed, closing her eyes in sudden exhaustion. It was like the weight of what she was doing was finally crashing down on her, and she had to take a moment to simply _breathe._

She stayed that way, head bent down and eyes closed, for what felt like hours, the silence of the room slowly becoming deafening.

Eventually, Luce opened her eyes and slowly brought her head back up to face the window, her hair moving against her cheek in a soft slide as she did. She turned her gaze to the open window, sunlight streaming through in dazzling rays, and didn’t see any of it.

Luce looked out the window, but she wasn’t really there, her attention and her mind focused inward in silent contemplation.

_Now that he’s here, I at least know that I no longer have to worry about The Fated Day, or what’s going to happen to Aria after I have her, but now I do have to worry about how to explain his presence to the Famiglia. Perhaps, perhaps I can explain him away as an orphan that I saw in a vision that showed him as being necessary for the future? It wouldn’t be entirely a lie, but thinking on it now, what if he does have a family somewhere? A mother and a father that are looking for him?_

_I know that I saw him taking my place as the sky arcobaleno, but it doesn’t make sense that he would be comfortable and accepting of the mafia world when he looks like he is obviously a civilian school boy._

Luce’s fingers clenched at the idea of the boy’s mother looking for him, bunching up the fabric of her dress on her stomach. How would she feel if it was her in that position? Her daughter disappearing from right in front of her, and there not being anything that she could do about it? _I can’t…I can’t think about that. I’m doing this so that my daughter won’t have to live life not having a mother, so I can’t think about his mother missing her son, I can’t._

Luce took a deep breath, and held it, expelling the air after a count of three, and with it, her previous thoughts. She unclenched her fingers, and smoothed down the material of her dress, clearing her mind with each repetitive stroke of her hand, until her mind was clear, and focused on her original train of thought.

_I mean, I’m due to have Aria early august, and in the first vision that I saw, I met Renato and the other arcobaleno around now, and the transformation took place while I was still pregnant, so it had to happen sometime between now and august, which gave me at least two months to come to terms with what was about to happen. But in the vision I had soon after, Aria was at least a year old, and the boy was living with us before he left to have his first meeting with the others. That means that he at least had a year to become adjusted to life in the mafia. But even with that, I have to remember that the Giglio Nero Famiglia doesn’t come off as being as obviously mafia as some other families, the Vongola, for instance._

_So in a year, a civilian boy not only managed to become aware of the mafia, but also accept it to the point that he would agree to become one of the main holders of the powers that govern it, and keep the world in balance? Well, not agree, no one who becomes an arcobaleno knows that it’s going to happen to them, no one except me._

Luce again felt a twinge of guilt, but this time over how in her first vision, she had knowingly led the others to their fate. Like lambs being led to be slaughtered, and she the Sheppard.

_And I’m doing it again, aren’t I? Only now they won’t know that I betrayed them, because I won’t be their sky, he will, but even then, I’m still the one sitting back with all the knowledge about what is going on. I am still the silent observer, only this time, I’m not watching myself walk down that road, but him. Watching and making decisions for others like some all-powerful god, when that is the last thing that I am. Gods don’t care about the consequences their decisions have on others, but I do. I do, but that still doesn’t change the fact that, like those uncaring gods, I’m not going to do anything to change my decision, regardless of who gets hurt because of it, because this needs to happen, not only for my Aria, but in order to protect the future of the world she has to live in. The balance must be maintained, and sacrifices are needed in order to do it, and I’m only lucky that this time, I won’t have to be one of those sacrifices, that instead, it will be this poor, innocent boy that fate decided to offer up in exchange. His life…for mine, for my life, and for my future._

Luce started in surprise when she heard a noise behind her, and she turned her head back to see that it was the boy, moving around as much as he could underneath the blankets, and starting to wake up. Luce turned around the rest of the way, and soon after she did, the boy opened his eyes, blinking first at the ceiling, before his gaze turned to her and he flinched back in surprise.

Now that he was awake, Luce could finally see that the boys eyes were a beautiful brown, lighter than his hair, and ringed by a thin band of burnt orange.

Luce was brought out of her observations when she saw his eyes fill with confusion as he struggled to sit up. Luce leaned forward and helped him free his arms, pulling back the blanket and placing her hand behind his back to help him sit up.

Once he was sitting up, Luce withdrew her hand and sat back herself, pausing a second to take in the boy now that he was finally awake.

Luce was surprised to note how calm the boy was being, especially considering the fact that he had just woken up in a strange bedroom, to an unknown woman sitting beside him on the bed. Normally, if someone found themselves in such a situation, they would be the complete opposite of calm, but besides appearing visibly confused, the boy was just that, no fidgeting, looking around, or nervous finger playing, it was…odd, to say the least.

After a few seconds passed of them just staring at each other, the boy silent the whole time, Luce realized that he was waiting for her to say something.

“I’m sorry, I know you must be confused, and here I am, just staring at you. Please forgive me. Do you know what’s going on?” Luce asked, putting the thought of how calm the boy was being away for the moment, to focus on talking to him now that he was awake. And Luce would have continued asking question, if the boy hadn’t decided at that moment to open his mouth and shock her with what came out.

 _“Um, I..I’m sorry, but I don’t understand what you’re saying.”_ The boy responded back, sounding just as confused as he looked, in _Japanese_. Instead of the Italian that Luce was expecting.

 _Well,_ Luce thought, blinking at the boy in surprise, _I did notice earlier that he looked Asian, and I was leaning towards him being Japanese, but I didn’t even consider the fact that he might not be from Italy, or speak Italian. I mean, I also noticed some traces of Italian in him, so I just assumed that one of his parents was Asian, but that they lived in Italy._

Luckily for the boy, however, is the fact that, thanks to one of her personal guards being Japanese, Luce had decided to learn the language in order to communicate with Misaki in her native tongue.

“ _I’m sorry, is this better?”_ Luce asked, and repeated her question from earlier, but this time in Japanese. The boy nodded, but even after Luce switched the language she was speaking to him in, his look of confusion didn’t abate.

 _“Yes, thank you, and I’m sorry that I didn’t understand you earlier. And to answer your question, I don’t know…wait, what’s going on? That’s strange. I..I don’t, I don’t remember what my name is. How is that possible!? What, what’s wrong with me!? Who..who am I!?_ The boy managed to get out, sounding more and more frantic with every word that he spoke.

It was then, looking into the boys eyes that were pleading with Luce to help him, to tell him what was going on, and more importantly, _who_ he was, that Luce made a decision that set the choice she had made in stone. With her next words, Luce knew that now, there truly was no going back.

Luce looked at the boy, and lied.

 _“No, no, please, stop worrying. It was a thoughtless mistake on my part to ask you that question, after I know what you’ve just gone through. And it’s completely understandable that you don’t remember anything. You were in an accident, and you lost your memories, and…and I’m sorry to say, but your mother as well. I’m so sorry that I have to tell you this, remind you of it, so soon after it happened.”_ Luce told the boy, his eyes widening with her every word, and his fists closing around the blanket in a white knuckled grip.

 _“I…I can’t believe… I don’t remember anything. My mom… is dead? But, I don’t even remember what she looks like, who she is, who_ I _am. You know me, right? Who am I? Can…can you tell me my name?”_ The boy asked, and Luce could hear the tremor in his voice, could _see_ how he was trying to keep his composure even after everything Luce had just told him.

Luce bit back the urge to take everything that she had just said back, and pulled him into her arms. The boy latched onto her as soon as she did, wrapping his arms around her back and burying his head into the side of her neck.

_A name, he needs a name to go along with his new life. I don’t know why he doesn’t remember anything, but this is for the best. If he doesn’t remember the life that he’s leaving behind, then all the better._

_But what name would be perfect for him to lead his new life with? What name…ah, I know, Luciano. His name will be Luciano, because he will be the light that will guide the others towards a brighter future. He will be their sky, and he will be their light.  And from today onwards, he will be, Luciano._

_“Don’t worry Luciano, everything will be alright.”_

_“Luciano? Is that my name?”_ The newly named Luciano asked, pulling away to look at her, and Luce nodded in confirmation.

 _“It is, I know it might seem a bit strange since you only remember speaking Japanese, but I was friends with your mother, and she told me that your father, who was Italian, named you. She always told me over the phone how things were a little difficult for you, living in Japan with an Italian name.”_ Luce told him, making up his past life as she spoke.

“ _On the phone? If she called you from Japan, then where are we now?”_ Luciano asked from his new position. While they were talking, he had moved away from Luce, and was now leaning back against the mound of pillows.

 _“Italy. Right now, we are in my family home in Italy.”_ Luce answered

_“If you live in Italy, then how did you know my mother? And why were we in Italy, if we live in Japan?”_

_“I knew your mother, because we were old friends. We met when she took a trip to Italy when she was younger, and the two of you came to Italy to come visit me. So I blame myself for what happened, to her, and to you, because if you hadn’t come, she wouldn’t be dead, and you would still have your memories.”_ Luce told him, and even though she knew every word coming out of her mouth was a lie, she was especially dishonest about the last few words she said to him, because the last thing that she would ever wish hadn’t happened, was him coming here.

 _“No! Please don’t blame yourself. I may not remember anything, but I can tell just from being with you now that you are a good person Luce-san, so you shouldn’t blame yourself. Accidents, accidents happen, and it’s not like I remember anything, anyway, right?”_ here he laughed to himself, but it wasn’t a happy laugh, but one filled with self-deprecation _, “And if I get to stay with you, Luce-san, then I’m happy, even if, even if I don’t remember anything about who I am.”_ Luciano finished _,_ and Luce couldn’t help but think, why was a person as kind, and sweet, and _good_ , as Luce could already tell he was, just from spending this short amount of time with him, chosen to take her place?

_Maybe, maybe it’s because that is the type of person that the others need, the type of person who is truly fit to be the sky arcobaleno. Not someone like me, who would take advantage of someone like him._

Luce reached forward for Luciano, and pulled him into another hug. _“And I’m happy that you are taking everything so well, Luciano. Are you sure that you want to stay with me?”_ She asked, and Luce could feel his smile from where it was pressed to her shoulder.

“ _Yes, Luce-san, I’m sure that I want to stay with you, if you’ll have me.”_ He told her, ducking his head down in sudden shyness.

 _“Oh, Luciano, you’ll never have to worry about me not wanting you here, but enough of that. You’ve been asleep for a bit, and you must be hungry. How would you like a late breakfast, or, considering the time, an early lunch?”_ Luce asked, pulling away slightly, and at Luciano’s answering nod, she let go completely and moved to stand up.

 _“Now that you mention it, I am feeling a little hungry_.” Luciano told Luce, sliding off the other side of the bed and moving to stand up with her.

 _“Good, I haven’t eaten yet for today either, so we’ll make a meal of it. Your shoes are over here, and the bathroom is over in that direction if you need it,”_ Luce said, pointing to a door in the corner of the room, _“and I’ll be waiting in the hallway for you when you’re ready.”_ Luce finished, walking towards the door, the sounds of Luciano getting himself together behind her.

Once she reached the hallway, Luce leaned against the wall next to the door, and let the smile she had had on her face while she was talking to Luciano drop.

 _This is it. What’s done cannot be undone, and I can’t turn back now. I just need to remind myself that this is for you, Aria,_ Luce thought, bringing her arms up to cradle her stomach, _that I’m doing all of this for our future together, and I’ll be alright. I just need to remember, and I’ll have the strength to carry on with my decision. A decision that I have to believe is right, regardless of what my heart is sometimes telling me._

 _“I’m ready Luce-san, I’m coming out now!”_ Luciano called out from inside his room, and Luce straightened up from her position on the wall when she heard his footsteps growing closer.

 _And regardless of how much it hurts to look at the boy that I am soon going to betray, just as I did to them, in the future that hasn’t yet been, and now, never will be._ Luce thought, looking down at Luciano once he came through the door, a smile lighting up his face when he caught sight of her.

 _“Are you ready to go?”_ he asked.

“ _Yes,_ “ Luce responded,” _yes, I am ready”_

_For more than you realize, Luciano, more than you realize._


	3. Chapter 3

Walking beside her in the hallway, Luciano couldn’t help but think how lucky he was to know Luce-san.

_I mean, she’s so kind, and even if she was friends with my mother, that doesn’t mean that she had to take me in after the accident, but she did. She took me into her home, and explained everything to me, even though she didn’t have too, and could have easily just sent me back to Japan without me ever knowing what had happened, since I lost my memories._

_I still can’t believe that I don’t remember anything about my life, or who I am. I only remember basic things that I must have learned in school, like what things are, and places, otherwise I never would have known what or where Italy and Japan are._

_I remember how to speak Japanese, but when it comes to things that have to do with me, like who I am, my name, who my mother was, and even simple things like what I like or dislike, there’s just nothing there._

_It’s like…it’s like I just started my life today, and that’s scary._   Luciano thought, stopping short in the hallway. It was like the reality of his current situation suddenly hit him all at once, and he couldn’t stop thinking about all the things that he knew, or in this case, didn’t.

He stared down at his hands, and realized that he didn’t recognize them. Pale and small and shaking slightly, they could have been anyone’s hands. Like the hands of a stranger, but wasn’t that who he was to himself?

Luciano remembered when he was in the bathroom earlier, and he looked in the mirror when he was washing his hands. He looked into the mirror, and staring back at him was a perfect stranger.  Unfamiliar, and unknown, there was nothing there to connect with, nothing that made him think, “this is me”.

_I don’t even know how old I am, or when my birthday is, my favorite color. Do I like to read? Am I a happy person? Sad? Did I have friends, or was I someone who was always alone? Am i-_

Luciano was abruptly brought out of his thoughts by the feeling of a warm hand being placed on his back. He turned his head to the side and saw that Luce-san was standing next to him, her blue eyes filled with concern as she stared down at him, and he realized that it was her hand resting on his back.

 _“Are you all right Luciano? If you’re not feeling up to walking around yet, I can have lunch brought up to your room, instead of us going all the way to the dining room.”_  Luce asked, and Luciano stared at her uncomprehendingly for a second, before he quickly shook his head no.

Luciano took a step away from her, and forced a smile back onto his face. He really wasn’t alright, but he didn’t need to give Luce-san more things to worry about, or bother her after everything that she had done for him.

“ _No, no! You really don’t have to do that Luce-san, I’m fine, but thank you for asking. I was just…I was just thinking about how I don’t know what I like to eat.”_  He hastily reassured her, but she didn’t look like she believed him.

Luce straightened up from where she had been slightly bent over when she was talking to him, and stared at him with a frown on her face.

“ _If you’re sure. We only have to go down two flights of stairs once we reach the end of the hallway, and we don’t have to walk far to get to the dining room, but if you feel like turning back at any point, don’t hesitate to tell me, ok?”_  She said, looking like she was about to make him go back to his room regardless of him saying that he was fine.

“ _Ok, but we won’t have too, and like I told you, I really am fine, so you don’t have to worry.”_  Luciano told her, starting to walk again.

A few second passed before Luce joined him, and they were once gain walking down the hallway together.

They finally reached the end of the hallway, and made their way down the first flight of stairs, and Luciano noticed once they reached the landing of the second flight of stairs that Luce-san was rubbing her stomach again. He had seen her doing the same thing earlier, but he forgot to ask her about it.

“ _Um, Luce-san? Are you alright?”_  He asked and she looked up at him in surprise, her hand stilling on her stomach.

“ _Yes, I’m fine, why do you ask?”_   Luce asked him, the surprise on her face clearly reflected in her voice.

“ _It’s just that, I noticed that you keep on rubbing your stomach, and I wanted to make sure that everything was alright.”_  Luciano responded, noticing as he did a flash of emotion pass through Luce-sans eyes, too quick for him to tell what it was.

Luciano saw Luce-san’s hand tense up briefly from its place on her stomach, before it relaxed and she let it fall back down to her side. She gave Luciano a close eyed smile, before starting down the rest of the stairs, talking as she went.

 _“Everything is just fine, thank you for asking. I’m pregnant, so I rub my stomach whenever I feel my daughter, Aria, kick.”_  Luce-san said, and Luciano hurried to join her on the steps so that he wouldn’t be left behind.

 _"Really? um, then, I should say congratulations, right?_ ” Luciano asked, and Luce paused on the steps for a second before answering.

" _You can say congratulations if you want, but it_   _isn’t something_   _that has to be said."_   She told him, and Luciano couldn't help but think that she sounded a little...odd, like she didn't want to be talking about her being pregnant.

Luciano decided to keep quite the rest of the way down the stairs, and he noticed out of the corner of his eye that Luce-san seemed to relax when it became obvious that he wasn't going to say anything more.

They reached the bottom of the steps, and Luciano followed behind Luce-san as she continued to walk, following the path that only she knew to the dining room.

The rest of the walk passed by in silence, Luciano not saying anything so that he didn’t bother Luce-san, and Luce silent as she was apparently lost in thought.

Like Luce-san had said earlier, they didn't have to walk long before they arrived in the dining room.

Luciano saw that there were people rushing around, setting things up on the large table in the middle of room, and from where he was standing in the doorway, he could smell the delicious scents of the food that was slowly being brought in by the men and women dressed in white.

" _This seems like a lot for just two people."_ Luciano remarked, as he noticed the table getting filled up with more and more platters of food.

Luce-san seemed to be in a better mood now that they were surrounded by more people, and her smile was back on her face as she gestured for him to come join her as she made her way to take a seat at the table.

" _Of course it is,"_ Luce-san told him, taking a seat at the head of the table and patting the seat on her right, showing him where he should sit down, _" it isn't only you and me that are having lunch now, but everyone in my family that is here today."_

Luciano took a second to really look at the table, and his eyes widened when he finally realized how big it was. The table had 20 seats, excluding the ones that Luce-san and he were sitting on, and apparently the table was only big enough to fit the people that were here today!

" _Wow, Luce-san, your family is really big. Are you sure that it's ok that I stay with you? Is there enough space?"_ Luciano asked, staring at Luce-san with a worried expression.

He didn't want to be the reason that anyone had to give up their room. Sure, Luce-san might feel like she had to help him, but he didn't want her to do that at the expense of someone else.

At his words Luce-san looked at him, and when she did, he noticed that the same emotion from earlier flashed by in her eyes, but just like then, he still couldn't tell what it was.

 _"You definitely don't have to worry about that Luciano. I know that you really didn't get a chance to see the house in its entirety, but it is more than big enough to accommodate everyone here today,_   _with plenty of room left over. I live in a mansion, and they’re known for having more rooms than is truly necessary.“_ Luce-san told him, and while she was talking, she had lifted a hand up to her mouth to cover the smile that Luciano could still see, despite her efforts.

Luciano breathed a sigh of relief, and smiled back at Luce-san.  _"Good, I wouldn't have been able to be happy with myself if I knew that I was putting someone out."_

 _"Don't worry, you aren't. And that's very sweet of you to be thinking and worrying about that."_ She told him, and Luciano blushed, looking down at the plate in front of him on the table.

He wasn’t...he wasn't being sweet, he was just, just thinking what anyone would think. He didn't need to have his memories to know that it was common sense to think about other people, and worry about whether or not you're inconveniencing them.

Luciano decided to let the conversation end there, and he started fiddling with his silverware when Luce-san started talking in Italian to one of the men walking around the room. The table was just about finished being set up, and the food was all out,(the smells coming from the plates and platters making him realize that he was hungrier that he thought) so she was probably telling the man to call her family in since everything was ready.

It was a few minutes later that his thoughts were confirmed, when men and women dressed in black suits started to stream into the dining room.

With their arrival came the constant chatter of conversation being spoken in Italian, and as the seats around him began to fill up, Luciano felt a little left out.

 _Well, there isn’t much I can do about that. I mean, it isn’t their fault that I’m in Italy, but I can’t speak Italian,_  Luciano thought as he reached forward to grab a sandwich off the platter closest to him,  _I just have to get used to only being able to speak to Luce-san, because I can’t take up more of her time and take advantage of her generosity by asking her to teach me Italian, it wouldn’t be fair._

Luciano looked up when he heard the chair next to him being pulled out, and he saw that a woman was now occupying the space on his right, her long black hair tied up in a ponytail and hanging down the back of her chair. He was just about to look down again, and return to eating his sandwich when the woman started talking to him, in  _Japanese._

 _“Hello Luciano, my name is Misaki. Boss asked me to keep you company during the meal, do you mind if I sit here?”_  Misaki asked, and Luciano was just about to tell her yes, when he paused, the words that Misaki just spoke finally registering with him, and with that, the oddness of her second sentence.

_Boss? Isn’t a boss like the leader or head of a business? And who could she be talking about? The only person that I know here is Luce-san, but she said that these people are her family, not people who work for her. But Misaki did say boss, and she knew not to talk to me in Italian, and the only way that she would know to speak with me in Japanese is if Luce-san told her, so she must be talking about her when she said that._

Luciano turned his head around to ask Luce-san what was going on, but he stopped once he saw that she was talking to the man seated on the other side of her.

He turned back around to face Misaki-san, and saw that she was waiting for him with an expectant, look on her face.

Luciano hesitated a moment, considering whether or not he should ask Misaki-san the questions that he had. He looked up at her face, and when he saw that her brown eyes were filled with patience despite all the time that had passed since she had asked her question, he decided to just go for it.

“ _H-hello Misaki-san, my name is Luciano, but you already knew that…um, it’s nice to meet you, and no, I don’t mind if you sit there, but can I ask you a question?”_  Luciano asked, blushing a little over how he stumbled over his words.

Misaki smiled, before gesturing for Luciano to go ahead with the hand that wasn’t holding the glass filled with some kind of red liquid. The plate in front of her was empty, so Luciano was at least grateful that he wasn’t stopping Misaki from eating because of his questions.

“ _When you said boss you were talking about Luce-san, right?”_  At Misaki’s nod he continued, _“Why did you call her that?”_  Luciano finished asking.

“ _Why? Because Boss is Boss, and it would be disrespectful to address the eighth head of the Giglio Nero Famiglia by anything other than her formal title of Ottavo, or Boss, unless she permits you to do otherwise. Its fine for you to call her Luce because she said you could, and even though I could do the same, I prefer to call her boss.”_  Misaki told him, and Luciano‘s brows furrowed in confusion over all the unfamiliar terms she had just used.

 _“Um, thank you for explaining that for me Misaki-san. And you don’t have to keep me company anymore, I’m…I’m just going to go back to my room now, I’m starting to feel a little tired.”_  Luciano said, pushing his chair back and moving to stand up.

Luce looked up at his movement, and he smiled apologetically before pointing to his empty plate and the entrance of the dining room. She understood that he was indicating that he wanted to leave, and she nodded her assent, her hair bobbing with the motion.

Luciano waved goodbye to Misaki-san and Luce-san, before turning to leave, his thoughts revolving around the information that he had just learned, courtesy of Misaki-san.

 _Giglio Nero must be Luce-sans last name, and famiglia sounds like family, so that means that Luce-san is the head of her family, the Giglio Nero Famiglia. But since she's also called the boss of her Famiglia, a famiglia must be a special sort of family.  It must be like a... a family business, one where the employees all live together._ Luciano thought as he made his way back the way he came earlier with Luce-san, retracing his steps to get back to his room

_That sounds like it's a lot of work though, but I guess it's worth it if you have a better relationship with your employees because they live with you. And they all seemed happy, so that must be a good sign. Luce-san is really amazing to be able to do all this._

While he was thinking Luciano had made his way back up the two flights of stairs from earlier, and now was back in the hallway that held his room.

 _Let's see, I remember that the door to my room was orange, but most of the doors in this hallway are that color._ Luciano thought as he came to a stop at the entrance of the hallway. He had to find his door before he could get to his room, but that was proving to be a bit difficult since most of the doors looked the same.

_Um, I also remember that it was on the right side, so that narrows things down._

Luciano started walking again, this time focusing on the right side of the hallway, and he stopped in front of a door towards the middle, that something in his mind seemed to be saying  _this one, this one_ too.

He reached forward and turned the door knob, realizing once he did that the door was unlocked. Luciano pushed the door open the rest of the way, and was happy to find when he looked inside that he had chosen the right room.

 _It’s a little strange that I was able to find it so fast, but I must have remembered more than I thought, why my mind was able to give me that nudge when I saw the door. How lucky._ Luciano thought with a smile, walking into his room and closing the door behind him as he went, locking it on instinct.

Luciano walked over to his bed and sat down on the edge of it to pull off his shoes. He set them off to the side, before climbing the rest of the way up the bed.

He laid down on his side on the side of the bed facing the window, and looked out of it as he thought once more about everything that had happened just now at lunch.

Doing this, Luciano realized that he was more than a little uncomfortable with the fact that he couldn't understand anything of what was being said around him.

_I know that I can't really be upset that they were speaking Italian, as that is obviously the language that everyone here speaks. But I'm living in Italy now too, so I need to learn the language, not only so that I know what everyone is saying, but so that I don't have to bother Luce-san with having to speak Japanese just for me. She shouldn't have to do that if she's used to speaking Italian. I need to learn the language, and maybe Misaki-san can help me. She seemed nice, and like the type of person who would._

_Then it's decided_.  _Tomorrow, I’ll find Misaki-san and ask her if she would be willing to teach me Italian._ Luciano thought, and he felt his body grow warm as if in response to his resolve, and if anyone was watching, they would have seen his eyes flash orange the moment that his decision was made.


End file.
